Napoles placed under provisional witness protection program

admin • March 17, 2018 • 3799

FILE PHOTO: Janet Lim Napoles

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed that business woman and alleged mastermind of multi-billion peso PDAF scam Janet Lim Napoles is now under a provisional witness protection program (WPP).

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said the affidavit submitted by the Napoles camp is now under assessment.

Napoles may also ask for an additional security and medical attention, based on a certification from the WPP signed by the program director, Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Ma. Nerissa Molina-Carpio.

The provisional coverage of Napoles under the WPP took effect on February 27.

The Napoles camp also filed before the Sandiganbayan an urgent motion to be under the custody of DOJ from Camp Bagong Diwa

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday directed the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detention Group (PNP-CIDG) to provide them complete information of those who were made respondents in the sedition complaint before the agency.

This, following the PNP-CIDG’s filing of complaint for sedition before the DOJ against Vice President Leni Robredo, Senators Leila de Lima and Risa Hontiveros, and former Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Bam Aquino, in relation to the so-called Project Sodoma on Thursday (July 18).

The DOJ Panel of State Prosecutors who was tasked to conduct preliminary investigation on the complaint issued an order directing the PNP-CIDG to provide them with the complete addresses of the said respondents.

The Panel noted that the complaint filed before it does not state respondents’ complete addresses.

It added that the missing information has made it difficult for the Panel to cause service of the subpoena to respondents.

The complaints filed against the respondents were sedition, inciting to sedition, libel, cyber libel, estafa, harboring a criminal and obstruction of justice.

Rodel Jayme, the webmaster of the website which first shared the “Bikoy” videos

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has found probable cause to indict Rodel Jayme for violation of Article 142 of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to Sec. 6 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

In a press statement, the DOJ said, “the inquest prosecutors found that Jayme’s creation of the website and his use of said website to circulate videos which allege the involvement of the President and his family in the drug trade was used for the purpose of weakening the confidence of the people in government and stir up dissent against it.”

The resolution released by the inquest prosecutors reads that they “likewise upheld the validity of the arrest of Jayme,” noting that the NBI had conducted surveillance on Jayme, “which satisfied personal knowledge on the part of its agents of the lawful acts committed by him.”

The inquest prosecutors further noted that since the circulation of the videos continues, the crime is still unfolding.

The DOJ is set to file an information against Jayme and other John and/or Jane Does with whom he worked and/or transacted with the appropriate court.

If convicted, Jayme will face imprisonment of six years and one day to twelve years, among other penalties.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has joined the hunt for alias Bikoy and the other personalities behind the “Totoong Narco List” [real narco list] videos.

The said videos implicated Presidential son Paolo Duterte, President Rodrigo Duterte’s common-law wife Honeylet Avanceña, and former Special Assistant to the President Bong Go, in illegal drug trade.

DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra had also ordered the department’s fact-finding team to conduct an investigation on the identity of the people behind the series of videos and to file possible criminal cases against them.

Guevarra said, “I have given instructions to the DOJ Office of Cybercrime to coordinate with the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) cybercrime unit and find out the source of these videos.”

The justice secretary further stated that the criminal charges will depend on the acts committed, such as cyber libel or similar offense.

Aside from the DOJ-initiated investigation, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is also conducting a separate probe on the said videos. – Maris Federez

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